Crank handle



Sept. 20, 1932. s. F. BRIGGS ET AL 1,877,798

CRANK HANDL E Filed May 14, 1925 2 Sheets-Sheet l Fglfx ,LELUCRQFL Patented Sept. 20,* 1932 UNITED STATES PATENT oFFlcE STEHEN F. BRIGGS .AND FELIX J. BTUCKERT, OF MILWAXEE, WISCONSIN canut HANDLE Application filed. Hay 14,

It is an object of this invention to provide an improved means for securing a handle member on its shaft, whereby the same may be readily pushed onto the shaft, but firmly 54 secured against removal therefrom to thus greatly facilitate the mounting of the handle member on its shaft.

Another object of this invention resides in the provision of a spring detent so arranged as to engage the shaft through an opening in the handle member to thus connect the shaft and handle.

It is a further object of this invention to provide an improved device of the character described in which several stops or positions are provided, whereby the position of the handle member on the shaft may be readily adapted to various conditions of installation.

A more specific object of this invention resides in the provision of a spring detent or ,retaining member carried by the handle member and engageable with any one of a plurality of stops or recesses in the shaft through an opening in the handle member to lthus adjustably secure the shaft in the handle member against accidental detachment.

A still further object of this invention resides in the provision of improved means for readily rotatably mounting a member on a shaft against detachment.

W ith the above and other objects in view, which will appear as the description proceeds, our invention resides in a novel construction, combinat-ion and arrangement of parts substantially as hereinafter described and more particularly defined by the appended claims, it being understood that said changes in the precise embodiment of the herein disclosed invention may be made as 1926. Serial No. 109,089.

Figure 2 is an enlarged, fragmentary, detail view, partly in section and partly in elevation, said view being taken through Figure 1 on the plane of the line 2 2;

Figure 3 is an enlarged, detail view in side elevation of the end of the shaft engageable M in the crank handle and illustrating the ratchet shaped teeth;

Figure 4 is a perspective view, with parts in section, of the knob assembly;

Figure 5 is a fragmentary view similar to Figure 1 illustrating a slightly modified arrangement for securing the handle member and shaft in operation relation;

Figure 6 is an enlarged, fragmentary, detall view, partly in section and partly in elevation, taken through Figure 5 on the plane of the line 6 6;

Figure 7 is a view similar to Figure 5 of another modified form of our invention;

Figure 8 is a fragmentary view, partly in section and partly in elevation, taken hough Figure 7 on the plane of the line Figure 9 is a view similar to Figure 7 illustrating another modified form of our invention;

Figure 10 is an enlarged, fragmentary, detailed view, partly in section and partly in elevation, taken through Figure 9 on the 80 plane of the line 10--10; p

Figure 11 is an enlarged, fragmentary View, partly in side elevation and partly 'in section, taken through Figure 10 on the plane of the line 11-11, and

Figure 12 is a view similar to Figure 10 of still another modified form of our invention.

Referring now more particularly to the accompanying drawings in which like num, inerals designate like parts throughout theseveral views, 8 designates a crank handle or lever member having a laterally projected boss 9 at one end provided with a bore 10 irr which one end 1l of a shaft 12 is engage- 95 able. The shaft 12, in the present instance, .has a gear 13 on its other end, but in actual use it is customary to provide a clutch or' brake device between the gear and shaft, the structure illustrated in Letters Patent No. 1o

1,534,804, issued Hubert A. Myers, April 21, 1925, being one type of clutch.

The bore is preferably angular in'cross section and the shaft end 11 is of similar shape whereby the shaft and crank member are secured against rotation with respect to each other, and means are provided for securing the shaft in the bore of the boss in the form of a spring detent, now about to be described.

The boss 9 adjacent its point of connection with the handle member proper has its opposite sides slotted or recessed, as at 14, and the metal 15 at the upper end portion of the boss between the recesses is channeled or grooved, as at 16, in line therewith to receive the closed end 17 of a substantially hairpinshaped spring detent 18. The detent is engageable over the boss in the channel and slots so that the incurved portions 19 of its arms or ends engage the shaft 12 to one side of an imaginary line intersecting its axis and the center of the recesses 14, whereby the tension of the spring tends to secure the same in place. The end 11 of the shaft 12 has a plurality of spaced recesses or slots 20 defined by a plurality of spaced teeth 21, and the spring arms of the spring detent engage in the recess 20 registering with the slots 14, as best illustrated in Figure 1.

The teeth 21 have their outer surfaces tapered to permit the insertion of the shaft in the bore 10 when the spring detent is in place, the teeth ratcheting past the spring detent until the shaft and handle member have been secured in their desired relation, when the arms of the detent come to rest in the recess 20 in register with the slots 14 to secure the shaft in the bore 10. When it is desired to disengage the shaft and handle member, the spring detent may be removed by the insertion of a tool, not shown, under its closed end 17 through a notch or recess 22 provided in the boss and communicating with the channel 16, preferably from the front, see Figures 1 and 2.

If desired, suitable tensioning means may be provided to take up all slack or play between the detent and the adjacent tooth 21, said means in the present instance bein g illustrated as an expansile spring 23 extended into a bore 24 in the end 11 of the shaft and being compressed between the shaft and the inner end of the bore 10. As will be readily apparent, the spring 23 being maintained under tension, eliminates all noises due to rattling of the handle or crank member on the shaft.

In Figures 5 and 6, a slightly modified form of our invention is illustrated in which the boss 9 has an opening or aperture 25 communicating with the bore 10 and through which a stud or enlargement 26, carried by one end of a flat circular spring 27 embracing the boss, is projectable to engage a reduced portion or tit 28 on its inner end in the recess or slot 20 of the shaft in register with the opening 25. The end of the spring 27 remote from the enlargement is curved or bent out Wardly, as at 29, to facilitate the engagement therewith of a finger to remove the spring and permit the withdrawal of the handle member from the shaft. If desired the tensioning spring 23 ma also be employed in connection With this orm of our invention.

In Figures 7 and 8, a further modification of our invention is illustrated in which one side of the boss 9 is slotted, as at 30, to receive the free end of a spring detent 31, the other end of which is secured inan enlargement or apertured projection 32 formed integral with the handle member 8, the free end of the spring detent being urged into the recess 30 under tension to engage in the shaft recess or slot 20 registering with the slot 30. The extreme end of the free portion of the spring is laterally curved or bent, as at 33, to facilitate the engagement of a finger therewith to free the same of the shaft and permit the Withdrawal of the handle member therefrom.

In Figures 1 and 4 is illustrated the improved spring member or device utilized to rotatably fix a knob or handle member 34 on a stud shaft 35 carried by the end of the handle member 8 remote from the boss. In this structure, the outer end of the stud shaft which forms a journal adapted to be engaged in the bore 36 of the knob member is provided with an annular groove or channel 37 adapted to align With annular groove or channel 38 in the wall of the bore 36 When the knob member is journaled on the stud shaft. The groove or channel 37 is of a depth equal to or greater than the thickness or cross-sectional diameter of a split spring ring 39 and the groove or channel 38 is of a depth less than the thickness or cross-sectional diameter of the split ring 39.

To secure the knob member on the stud shaft, the split ring is secured in the lchannel 37 and contracted to permit the engagement of the knob member over the stud shaft, the spring member expanding as the channels 37 and 38 align to thus freely rotatably, but non-detachably secure the knob member on the stud shaft. The depth of the channel 38 being less than the thickness of the split ring 39 prevents the detachment of the knob member from the stud shaft as Will be evidenced.

In installations where it is unnecessary to provide for the adjustment of the handle 8 on the shaft 12, the construction illustrated in Figures 9, 10 and 11 may be utilized Whereby the shaft and handle member-bore have a complementary taper. The shaft in, this embodiment of our invention, is provided with a single approximately V-shaped groove or recess 20 normally located slightly vout- Wardly of the handle member recesses or 1 slots 14 so that the normal tension of the spring ends 19 bearing on the innermost inclined wall of the groove constantly tends to draw the shaft into the handle bore against the taper thereof, thus maintaining the handle tightly on its shaft. As in that form of our invention illustrated in Figures l and 2, the point at which the incurved portions 19 of the spring arms engage the shaft 12 is to one side of an imaginary line intersecting its aXis and the center of the recesses 14 to thus cause the tension of the spring to normally tend to secure itself in place.

In Figure 12 a slightly modified form of our invention is illustrated, wherein the boss 9 of the handle member has an opening or recess 40 therein adapted to align with the recess 20 of the shaft whereby the inturned end 41 of the spring detent 42 may be engaged in the shaft recess, the opposite end ofthe spring detent being preferably curved outwardly, as at 43, to facilitate the engagement of a finger or tool thereunder to disengage the detent.

From the foregoing description, taken in p connection with the accompanying drawings,

it will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art to which an invention of this character appertains, that we provide an improved and novel means for securing a lever or handle member to a shaft which will prevent the accidental disengagement of the mem ber and shaft. It will also be apparent that we have provided an improved and novel means for connecting a handle member and shaft which will permit a ready adjustment of the handle member on the shaft to accommodate various escutcheons or conditions of installation.

What we claim as our invention is:

1. The combination with a lever member having a bore and a shaft having one end portion engageable in the bore, of cooperating means carried by the lever member and the shaft for securing the lever member against rotation with respect to the shaft in any position of circumferential adjustment, an abutment on the shaft, and a spring detent carried by the lever member and automatically engageable with the shaft abutment upon en agement of the lever member onto the sha t end to secure the lever member against detachment from the shaft.

2. The combination' with a lever member having a bore and a shaft having one end engageable in the bore, of cooperatmg means carried by the lever member and the shaft for securing the lever member against rotation with respect to the shaft, means opposing axial movement of the shaft into the lever member bore, the shaft end having a transverse recess one wall of which is inclined with respect to a plane perpendicular to the. axis of the shaft, and a spring detent carried by the lever member and engageable with the vwall of the shaft recess tends to transmit axial motion to the shaft into the bore against the opposing means to prevent vibration of the handle member on the shaft.

3. A device of the character described, comprising a lever member having a bore taperingly reduced inwardly, a shaft having one end tapered to correspond with the taper of the bore and adapted to be engaged therein, said lever member and shaft having recesses adapted to approximately register when the shaft is engaged in the lever member bore, the recess on the shaft having one wall inclined with respect to a plane perpendicular to the axis of the shaft, a spring detent engageable in the registered recesses to secure the lever member on the shaft, the lever member recess holding the spring detent so that its force is exerted-in a direction substantially perpendicular to the axis of the shaft to engage the spring detent with the inclined wall of the shaft recess and exert an axial tension on the shaft to draw the same into the bore and secure the member snugly on the shaft end.

4. In a device of the character described, a member having a bore therein taperingly reduced inwardly, a shaft having one end tapered to correspond to the taper in the bore and adapted to be engaged in said bore, said member and shaft having recesses adapted to approximately align when the shaft is in the member bore, and said shaft recess having an inclined wall with the outer portion thereof registering with the member recess and the inner portion thereof slightly out of line therewith when the shaft is engaged in the bore, and a spring detent engageable in the recesses to abut the inclined wall and draw the shaft into the member bore and secure the member tightly on the shaft.

In testimony whereof we hereunto affix our signatures.

STEPHEN F. BRIGGS. FELIX J. STUCKERT. 

